Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Real Housewives of Orange County star Braunwyn Windham-Burke has come out as gay.
The 43-year-old television personality went public about her sexuality during an interview with GLAAD released Wednesday.
"I'm finally comfortable enough to say: I like women. I'm gay. I'm a member of the LGBTQIA+ community," Windham-Burke said.
"I'm a lesbian. And it has taken me 42 years to say that, but I'm so proud of where I am right now and I'm so happy where I am," she added. "To be able to be comfortable in my own skin after so long is just so nice."
Windham-Burke said becoming sober this year helped in her journey to self-acceptance.
"I know that when you get sober and you start doing the work that goes into that, you start realizing a lot of the reasons you drank had to do with who you were on the inside," she said. "This sort of became something that I didn't want to hide anymore and I didn't want to keep a secret anymore."
Windham-Burke has been married to her husband, Sean Burke, for 20 years and renewed her vows with Burke in November. She told GLAAD she and Burke are in "uncharted territory" but plan on staying married and raising their kids together.
Windham-Burke confirmed she is also dating a woman named Kris. She shared a photo with a woman Wednesday on Instagram Stories captioned with a rainbow flag and heart emojis. People said the woman is Windham-Burke's girlfriend.
Windham-Burke also discussed her coming out on Instagram.
"It feels so good to finally be living my truth. I am a lesbian," she wrote. "At 43 years old, I've finally been able to accept this part of myself and I've realized there are no rules about when someone should come out. This is my time."
Windham-Burke joined RHOC in Season 14. The Bravo series returned for a 15th season in October and co-stars Shannon Beador, Kelly Dodd, Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson and Elizabeth Vargas.
